Ten

I. Introduction

Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, known professionally as Ten, is a Thai dancer, singer and rapper. He is the main dancer, center, one of the main vocalists and a sub rapper in the permanent NCT sub-unit, WayV. WayV sings primarily in Chinese, as well as songs in Korean and English, bridging a gap between c-pop and kpop. He is also a part of a WayyV mini unit, WayV Ten & YangYang, as well as a main or lead singer in the rotational NCT subunit NCT U.. He is also a lead dancer, lead vocalist and sub rapper in the SM supergroup SuperM, which combines members from SHINee, EXO, NCT 127 and WayV. He is SM's first Thai artist.

II. Career

III. 2013-2016: SM Rookies

Ten was born on February 27, 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand. He won the Thai TV show Teen Superstar in 2010 and was offered the opportunity to sign with Starship Entertainment, which he refused. He was cast in a 2013 Bangkok SM Audition in Thailand and introduced as an SM Rookie on December 23, 2013. Ten began appearing with other members of the pre-debut SM Rookies team in live performances and variety shows.

IIII. 2016-18: NCT

He made his first appearance in NCT on April 10, 2016, as part of NCT's rotating combination unit, NCT U. NCT U utilizes different members to match the song and its accompanying performance, as well as serving to debut new NCT members. Ten appeared as a rapper and dancer in "The 7th Sense," NCT's debut single.

Ten appeared in the ongoing NCT reality show, NCT Life, from varying periods throughout 2016-2018. In April-May 2016, he appeared in NCT Life in Bangkok, focusing on the members of SM Rookies and their journey to debut. As part of the show, he served as a guide to the other members to his native Thailand, including Taeil, Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin and Jisung. As a part of the show, members toured Ten's old school and talked to his teachers.

In October-November 2016, he also appeared in the fourth season, NCT Life: Korean Food King Challenge, a cooking competition show featuring his fellow SM Rookies members, Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun and Winwin, who had already debuted formally as the permanent sub-unit NCT 127 in July 2016.

Ten returned for the sixth season NCT Life in Chiang Mai in March-April 2017, again serving as a tour guide to Thailand for NCT members Johnny, Taeyong, Doyoung, Winwin and Yuta.

Ten released a solo song "Dream in a Dream" on April 6, 2017 as part of the digital SM Station project.

He participated with NCT during the NCT 2018 project on March 14, 2018, featuring all NCT members, and debuting three new ones. This project also included the first NCT full album, NCT 2018 Empathy. He appears as a singer and dancer on the duet "Baby Don't Stop," the re-released "Dream in a Dream" and as a featured dancer in "Black on Black."

Ten released another solo song, "New Heroes" on April 6, 2018 as part of the SM Station project, as well as co-creating the choreography.

SM announced plans to launch an NCT China unit on August 13, 2018. The formation of the group was finalized and announced on December 31, under a new China-exclusive label. Due to the political tensions between China and South Korea at the time, the group was not promoted as an NCT sub unit.

During December, Ten also choreographed a number of dances as content for the NCT Dance channel on YouTube.

IIIII. January 2019: WayV debut

Ten debuted in the permanent Chinese sub-unit WayV on January 17, 2019 with the EP The Vision. Ten is often considered one of NCT's best dancers, including from choreographers that have works with the group, and his artistic fluid style of dance shapes WayV's overall dance style. He has a strong singing voice, that serves as a counterpoint to the two other main vocalists' styles, which are softer and delicate or more powerful with a wider range. WayV has a sleeker, sexier sound and style than the other sub-units, as well as a more fluid style of dance.

WayV released a second EP on May 9, 2019, Take Off.

IIIV. SuperM and 2nd WayV EP

SM Entertainment and Capitol Music Group announced a "K-pop supergroup" formed of members of popular SM boy groups. Described as "the Avengers of K-pop," the group included Shinee's Taemin, EXO's Kai and Baekhyun, NCT 127's Taeyong, NCT 127 and NCT Dream's Mark, and WayV's Ten and Lucas. As a heavily dance-focused group featuring members recognized as some of the top dancers in k-pop, Ten is a lead dancer and lead vocalist, as well as a sub rapper.

The group's promotional activity was heavily focused outside of Korea, notably in the United States. However, the group debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts on October 4 with its first EP SuperM.

WayV also released another EP on October 29, Take Over the Moon.

SuperM began touring through North America, Latin America and Europe through February 2020, before being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also premiered the first online-dedicated live concert on Vlive on April 26, 2020.

IIV. 2020: WayV and SuperM full albums, NCT 2020

In March 2020, a repackage was released, Take Over the Moon the Sequel. WayV released its first full album Awaken the World on June 9, 2020, following its online live concert on Vlive. It also appeared in its own reality show, WayVision. He also began his own ongoing web series on the WayV YouTube channel with group mate YangYang, Enjoy The Challenge.

Ten participated in SuperM's reality show Mtopia with other SuperM members in the build-up to the release of their first album, as well as the reality show SuperM: As We Wish. SuperM's full album was released in September 25, 2016, debuting at #2 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Additionally, SuperM participated in multiple live online events.

Ten also participated in the NCT 2020 project in October 2020, featuring all NCT members, and debuting two new ones. This project also included a 2-part NCT full album, NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 and NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2. He appears as a singer on WayV's song "Nectar," as well as a part of NCT U combination units on 3 songs: "90s Love," "Work It" and "Faded in My Last Song." He also features in the combination single "Resonance," which combines multiple songs. He also moves to center as part of the dance formation at points in the choreography. The entire project also appeared on NCT World 2.0, a competition-focused show.

Ten also featured in key dance segments during the Resonance music shows and award events, as well as performing in a separate sequence with Monsta X's Shownu during the MBC Gayo Daejejeon on December 31, 2020.

IIVI. 2021: Third EP, second album and solo work

WayV released its third EP, Kick Back, on March 11, 2021, while simultaneously airing the second season of its reality show WayVision 2: Winter Sports Channel. Ten showed greater development and range within his vocals with the songs on the album, which he and the members referenced.

SuperM launched a promotional single, "We Do" with Prudential.

In June, Ten launched his own clothing design collaboration with Represent. He also designed merchandise for the group's WayV's Little Friends, which featured the group's pets. On August 12, Ten released a solo song "Paint Me Naked" as part of the digital SM Station project.

In August, the second WayV sub-unit was announced: WayV Ten & YangYang and released a single "Low Low."

In October 2021, Ten and group mate Winwin were announced as China's ambassadors for the makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury. He also made a guest appearance on Street Dance of China: Season 4 and appeared in Chinese magazine photoshoots.

Ten did not fully participate in the NCT 2021 project in December 2021, featuring all active NCT members at the time, due to a combination of ongoing work in China and changing quarantine regulations and timing. This project also included a NCT full album, NCT 2021 Universe. He does appear on the WayV song "Miracle" and the all-unit song "Beautiful," but he does not appear as part of any NCT U unit. As part of NCT 2021 promotions, he also appeared in a special short digital series EuMARKJUNGsim, co-hosted by NCT group mates Mark and Jungwoo, and NCT 2021 YearDream, around the group's lore. The WayV track video, album photography and digital series were shot before he left for China, while his portion of the "Beautiful" video was shot in China. He did not appear in any of the group's year-end or awards show performances tied to the songs.

He also did not appear with the other members of NCT as part of the 2021 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU Express album or corresponding New Year's Day concert.

IIVII. 2022: Great Dance Crew, more solos and return to WayV

In April, Ten was announced as one of the team leaders on the TV show Great Dance Crew, where he and other pop star dancers coached and mentored hopeful young female dancers to create a world-class dance crew. As part of the show, he debuted a solo song "Birthday" with a dance performance. In July, he returned to Korea to resume promotions with NCT and WayV.

He also appeared with group mate YangYang in the Thai TV show Food Truck Battle. In October 2022, he officially released his fourth solo single, "Birthday" through the SM Station NCT Lab series, which highlights solo tracks, self-composed titles and more from NCT members.

WayV released its fourth mini, Phantom, on Dec. 28, 2022. The album became the group's highest first week sales of their career and then embarked on a multi-country fan meeting tour.

IIVIII. 2023: YSL Friend of the House, podcast, Golden Age and WayV 2nd album

Ten attended Paris Men's Fashion Week in January 2023 for the luxury brand YSL and began some additional promotional work in Asia for the company. He was announced as a friend of the house.

In March 2023, SM announced its plans for the year, which included the first NCT solo releases. Ten was announced as one of them, with a mini album releasing in 2023. However, the album was delayed.

In August 2023, Ten appeared with YangYang as hosts of their own podcast show, Unbelievable, for Eric Nam's Dive Studios.

Ten appeared with the other members of WayV on the fourth NCT album, Golden Age, as well as in the all-unit NCT Nation concerts in Korea and Japan. He featured on the NCT U songs "Baggy Jeans", emphasized as the return of the debut NCT U 7th Sense unit, "Call D" - another duet with Taeyong, "That's Not Fair" and "Not Your Fault."

In September, he won the Inspiration Award from Mint Thailand magazine.

III. Discography

Performer:

Covers (released in digital/social)

IV. Dance Performances

V. Filmography

VI. Photos

NCT 2020 Resonance

NCT 2023 Golden Age

VII. Trivia

- His official NCT emoji is 🐱 (cat face.)

- Ten is SM's first Thai artist.

- Ten is a choreographer.

- Ten can play the piano and guitar.

- Ten is a native speaker of Thai but is famously fluent in five languages: Thai, Korean, Mandarin, English and Japanese.

- Ten is also an artist and his designs have been utilized on WayV merchandise.

- Ten is creative, whipsmart, blunt, sassy and funny and loves to hassle his fellow member Kun. He's also sweet and thoughtful, especially with the younger members.

- Ten has designed clothing and merchandise for WayV, as well as his own collaborations with brands.

- His fans are called 10velys.

- Although WayV has two cats Louis and Leon, Ten is their primary owner and caregiver.

- Ten is considered a member of the "Foreign Swaggers." During their pre-debut SM Rookies promo video, Mark dubbed the group of Johnny (an American), Mark (a Canadian) and Jaehyun (a Korean who "lived in American for five years, that's why he's here, man") as foreign swaggers. The joke has grown over the years and is referenced in social content. The group has expanded to include other foreign-born members who are fluent in English like Ten (Thai) and YangYang (Taiwanese).

- Ten is tied with Kun for the longest wait from debut in NCT to placement in a permanent unit at 33 months. They both debuted in the first NCT U units in April 2016, but did not debut with their permanent unit until January 2019.

- Ten is Alice in WayV's Princess performance of their song "Bad Alive" for Winwin's birthday as part of his YouTube series WINformation.

- SM released a video using the audio from NCT's MAMA performance that captures the journey of the members through their career.

- NCT members participated in a NCT 24 Hour Relay Cam that gives a snapshot of their daily lives.

- NCT members spoke about their "beautiful" moment in 2021 as part of NCT 2021 Universe promotions